1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a battery cover structure in a watchcase.
2. Description of the Prior Art
A battery cover structure in a watchcase, such as one disclosed in Japanese Utility Model Application Laid-Open No. Sho 62-55190, has been proposed. This battery cover structure is characterized in that a battery cover formed of an elastic sealing member is attached to a battery hole portion of the case in such a manner that its side wall recess portion has a horizontal fitting margin relative to the case battery hole.
The above described watch case battery cover structure entails problems described below.
(1) Since the battery cover is an elastic member, it can be bent into the inner side of the watchcase by hydraulic pressure to exert a bad influence upon the movement through the battery such as to stop the movement of the hand.
(2) Since the battery cover is an elastic member, the battery cover itself is deformed by hydraulic pressure to come off the battery hole portion.
(3) The battery cover is made of rubber or the like and therefore has a poor appearance.
(4) The battery cover and battery can easily be detached, so that there is a risk of allowing a little child to accidentally swallow the battery cover or battery.
(5) There is a risk of the battery cover and battery being lost by being removed by mishandling.
A first object of the present invention is to provide a battery cover structure in a watch case which is designed so as to solve the above-described problems of the above-described conventional watch case battery cover structure, which is free from the risk of bending the battery cover by hydraulic pressure to badly influence the movement, or deforming the battery cover itself by hydraulic pressure to cause the battery cover to come off the battery hole portion, and which has an improved appearance.
A second object of the present invention is to provide a battery cover structure in a watch case which is free from the risk of allowing the battery cover to be easily detached and accidentally swallowed by a little child or the like, or to be removed by mishandling to be lost.
According to one aspect of the present invention achieving the above-described first object, there is provided a battery cover structure in a watch case with a case back or an integral type watch case, in which a battery cover is attached to a case battery hole having a battery detachment recess portion formed by partially recessing an outer surface of the case back of the watch case or a bottom surface of the integral type watch case around the case battery hole, the battery cover structure comprising:
a disklike elastic sealing member having a large-diameter portion at its watch case interior side and a small-diameter portion at its outer side; and
a disklike hard member joined to the elastic sealing member on the outer side of the same,
characterized in that the battery cover is attached to the case battery hole portion in such a manner that the small-diameter portion of the elastic sealing member has a horizontal fitting margin relative to the case battery hole.
According to a second aspect of the present invention achieving the above-described first object, in the first aspect of the present invention, the watch case battery cover structure is characterized in that the elastic sealing member has a fitting recess portion at its outer side;
the hard member has a fitting projection at its inner side; and
the elastic sealing member and the hard member are joined by projection-recess fitting.
According to a third aspect of the present invention achieving the above-described first object, in the first or second aspect of the present invention, the watch case battery cover structure is characterized in that the elastic sealing member and the hard member are joined by an adhesive.
According to a fourth aspect of the present invention achieving the above-described first and second objects, in the first, second or third aspect of the present invention, the watch case battery cover structure is characterized in that a slanted-surface portion or a stepped portion is formed in an edge portion of the hard member at the inner side; and
a rectangular groove is formed in the outer surface of the hard member in a position corresponding to the position of the slanted-surface portion or the stepped portion.
According to a fifth aspect of the present invention achieving the above-described first and second objects, in the fourth aspect of the present invention, the watch case battery cover structure is characterized in that a mark indicating an opening or a closed position of the battery cover is provided on the outer surface of the case back and/or the outer surface of the hard member.
(Operation)
In the arrangement according to any one of the above-described first to third aspects, the outer side (back side) of the elastic sealing member is backed up with the hard member (rigid member) made of a metal, a plastic, or the like, and these members are integrally joined by projection-recess fitting or adhesion by an adhesive. Therefore, the battery cover is not bent or deformed by hydraulic pressure from the outer side of the case, so that the possibility of a bad influence upon the movement is eliminated and the battery cover itself does not come off. Also, the external appearance is improved because the outer side is formed by a metal, a plastic, or the like.
If the battery cover structure is arranged according to the above-described fourth aspect, functions described below are achieved as well as the above-described functions and effects.
That is, the battery cover can be freely rotated by inserting a portion of a coin or the like in the rectangular groove formed in the outer surface of the hard member. After the battery cover has been rotated so that the slanted-surface portion or the stepped portion provided in a portion of the edge of the hard member at the inner side, is brought to a position corresponding to the position of the battery detachment recess portion provided in a portion of the outer surface of the watch case case back around the battery hole, the battery cover can readily be detached by forcing the tip of a nail, a knife, or any other detachment jig to the slanted-surface portion or the stepped portion through the battery detachment recess. If the battery cover is rotated so that the slanted-surface portion or the stepped portion provided in a portion of the edge of an interior side of the hard member is not at a position corresponding to the position of the battery detachment recess portion provided in a portion around the battery hole of the watch case case back, the tip of a nail, a knife, or any other detachment jig cannot be forced to the slanted-surface portion or the stepped portion through the battery detachment recess. Thus, the battery cover is prevented from being easily detached and accidentally swallowed by a little child, or the battery cover or the battery is prevented from being detached and lost by mishandling.
If the battery cover structure is arranged according to the above-described fifth aspect, the rotation and positioning for opening and closing the battery cover may be performed reliably while the above-described functions are achieved.
And according to one aspect of the present invention achieving the above-described, a battery cover structure comprising: an elastic sealing member having a large-diameter portion at its watch case interior side and a small-diameter portion at its outer side; and a hard member joined to said elastic sealing member on the outer side of the same,characterized in that the battery cover is attached to the case battery hole portion in such a manner that the small-diameter portion of the elastic sealing member has a horizontal fitting margin relative to the case battery hole.